Frieze Los Angeles

In this presentation, Nitsche showcases a diverse body of new work that ranges from still-lifes and portraits to a monumental painting of everyday scene that hover between fiction and reality. Through an intensified and heightened portrayal of reality, his compositions feel both fictitious yet plausible, otherworldly but real. Nitsche’s paintings simultaneously serve as a study in colour and composition, with his style alternating between hard-edged, colour-blocked schemes and delicate brushwork. The tonal relationships, which can be complimentary or contrasting, play a defining role in the creation of an enigmatic atmosphere.

Constantin Nitsche’s new paintings depict familiar sights—fragments of domestic interiors, shifting light over a landscape, or the presence of a loved one—only to evolve into something more elusive. Working from both direct observation and memory, he frequently alters and reconstructs his compositions over time, creating a sense of layered experience. This intuitive approach is evident in his portraits, such as Perles and La Genevoise, which originate from photographs of his loved ones but take on a distinct painterly autonomy. Similarly, his still lifes resist pure representation; Une Raie Morte, for instance, stems from an encounter at a Marseille fish market years ago, yet it carries echoes of art historical precedents, from Goya to Courbet. Through these works, Nitsche engages with the long lineage of painting while remaining deeply attuned to his own surroundings, allowing past and present, the everyday and the timeless, to coalesce on the canvas.